And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Matthew 6:12, NIV

 

Our Lord Jesus said in Matthew 16:24 that if we decided to follow him as his disciples, we will have to deny ourselves and take up our own crosses. We love to hear of all the verses that promises God’s care and providence, his protection and our hope for the future. When does it get so difficult that we experience the Christian walk of faith as the carrying of our own cross? This part of the Lord’s Prayer is where it gets difficult to follow Christ, it clashes directly against our sinful nature.

 

We like the Old Testament principle of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” (Exodus 21:24). If someone hurts me, I would like them to also feel the pain. But this is why the world is in such a bad state these days. Our own will for retribution and vengeance makes the world more hostile with every passing day.

 

Jesus firstly teaches us that we are forgiven as his disciples. Every one of us needs God’s grace and forgiveness in our own lives, because we all sin. Paul taught in Romans 3:12: “All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” Every one of us needs Christ in our lives, for only he can cleanse us from sin. We all need God’s forgiveness in our own lives.

 

It is the second part of Christ’s teaching that is so difficult to grasp. Our forgiveness is conditional. Our forgiveness is bound by our willingness to forgive those who sin against us. This is so difficult for us to do! Some transgressions against us are small, no real harm was done, and it is easy to forgive and forget. However, some of the transgressions against us have hurt us deeply and ruined our lives. Some transgressions against us are really difficult to forgive, I know!

 

Our ability to forgive is very important to Jesus. He repeated this command just after the Lord’s Prayer and he gave an extremely important parable about forgiving others in Matthew 18:21. Our Lord sees everything. No injustice escapes his attention. He says that vengeance is his, he will let justice prevail. But when he commands us to forgive, he is not doing it to hurt us any further. When I hate another person, I become enslaved to that person. My joy in life and my freedom in Christ are bound by bitterness. I become the prisoner of my own vengeful thoughts. My whole life gets stuck in a bad place. However, when I bring that injustice to God and learn to forgive, I become free. I can live again. Forgiveness is meant to free me, not to hurt me any further.

 

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your forgiveness in my life, bought so dearly on the cross. Thank you for the price you paid to set me free. Help me to forgive those people who hurt me. Come heal my heart, set me free to serve you. Lord, this is so difficult to do, please help me. Amen.